November Testing Party (cont. from October Testing Party thread) - Join Me!

[Miss406]

So I found out today my sister is pregnant, on the first try, on her honeymoon. I'm excited for her of course, but it comes with mixed emotions since my TTC journey has been long and difficult on many levels. And of course who decides to visit today just to rub it all in? Aunt Flo. I am NOT a happy camper right now. I was feeling so optimistic about this cycle. Now I have to just smile and be happy for my sister.

I know exactly how you feel! Last cycle my friend found out a week before my AF was due. She has been rubbing it in left, right and centre. Of course that only made things worse when I was due on a week later and it didn't come for 17 days after!

Even now she's doing gender prediction tests and sending me photographs and asking my advice about Midwife appointments, even sent me pictures of all her tests, even bump photos, scan dates and she's not even 10 FLIPPIN' weeks yet. It's highly frustrating - our month will come bighouse.

 

[Querida87]

Miss406, sounds like you have a very insensitive friend. I know how that is. My "best friend" who lives nearest and I see most often is very critical and unsupportive and (I think) jealous of my strong happy relationship. I won't be insensitive to her when I finally get my BFP though; instead I'll probably back off the friendship and see if she comes to her senses. If not, I'd rather be alone in my happiness than have to suffer just to have someone around, you know?

 

[OliveLuv]

Rach87 - I see a line!!! FX it keeps getting darker

 

[Miss406]

Oh absolutely, she has 3 girls and 1 boy, was asking all kinda of advice on positions to conceive a boy... then when I mentioned that I may consider trying for another boy she got all defensive saying what will be will be - hypocrite! I'm not one for slagging other people off but when they're as RUDE as her....

 

[JandJPlus1]

How does one go about conceiving a boy? Lol.

 

[Miss406]

It's all bumf really, but you have higher chances of conceiving one particular gender by timing it right and in certain positions....

 

[OliveLuv]

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Just read through all the posts - there was lots to catch up on! I'm 7 or 8 DPO. I have been having this tugging/poking feeling in my lower abdomen, I can't tell if it's gas, my imagination or something else. Trying not to analyze every little thing that is going on with me! Still set on waiting until the 8th to test.

 

[Turtle0630]

Hi ladies! I accidentally unsubscribed so I'm posting to subscribe again! I'll catch back up shortly! Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

 

[crystlmcd]

Congrats Rach, great line!

 

[Turtle0630]

Rach, that's an awesome line!!! Congrats!!! I'm going to go change you in the October thread if you're okay with that? So happy for you!

 

[RonnieV]

Hearing about the insensitive females just makes my blood boil...reminds me of this girl(supposed to have been my friend) told me that I will never know what it's like to be a mother....made me feel like it's true at one point, but I know it will happen, just have faith and don't pressure yourself as stress can contribute to not conceiving...
as for conceiving boys, I definitely want one(since my boo has a girl from previous relationship), and have read that timing and position has a lot to do with it, although I'm not going to rely on everything I read...so fx for a boy(but any gender is fine with me)
Wont be testing until af is late so not going to lose my mind like previous cycles...Lol I was pretty bad at symptom spotting and spending money on expensive tests, etc...

 

[Querida87]

How does one go about conceiving a boy? Lol.

Male sperm are fast-swimming but weaker than female sperm. Obviously, if you bd a couple days before and not during o the weaker males die off and the stronger females catch it. If you bd during o and position ejaculation closer to cervix the fast swimming males get to the egg first. Also, an alkaline womb is more conducive to male sperm survival and an acidic womb is more conducive to female sperm survival. Certain foods and vitamins can help change your ph balance, but you have to start at least a month prior to ttc to really change it. Also, female orgasm makes the womb temporarily more alkaline. Yeah I did A LOT of research on that. I REALLY want #3 to be my 1st girl.. lol

 

[Querida87]

Hearing about the insensitive females just makes my blood boil...reminds me of this girl(supposed to have been my friend) told me that I will never know what it's like to be a mother....made me feel like it's true at one point, but I know it will happen, just have faith and don't pressure yourself as stress can contribute to not conceiving...
as for conceiving boys, I definitely want one(since my boo has a girl from previous relationship), and have read that timing and position has a lot to do with it, although I'm not going to rely on everything I read...so fx for a boy(but any gender is fine with me)
Wont be testing until af is late so not going to lose my mind like previous cycles...Lol I was pretty bad at symptom spotting and spending money on expensive tests, etc...

My "friend" used to be a good friend, but things have deteriorated rapidly since February, when I found true happiness and a solid relationship with my bf. Her 5 yr marriage is broken and worse every day, her children are spoiled brats who don't obey or respect her,and her mother-in-law uses her; so she sees me happy, relaxed and spoiled and jealously criticizes and complains and discourages me. She is also always expecting me to do stuff for her and never reciprocates anymore. Sometimes I think she tries to keep me at her house doing her chores so that I won't have time to do my own chores and therefore have problems with my bf. She also expects me to drive her all over the place 5 days a weeks and rarely even full compensates the gas, probably so he will fight with me about paying for her to run my car into the ground when she has her own vehicle. I really can't tell her what I think or just ignore her bc our men get along well and work together and I don't want problems between them. People like her are the reason why I prefer female friends who are older and wiser to women my age or younger, bc twenty-somethings are such a pain in the you-know-what. lol

 

[JandJPlus1]

Hey hey now. Not all of us 20 something's are bad! I'm only 21 and I would never pull crap like that. Although my mom has been calling me middle aged since I was 15.. So I may not be the best example haha.

 

[MJsBabyShaw]

Hi there! I'm new to B&B, but this is my 7th cycle TTC baby #1 after an early miscarriage back in March. I just started my cycle, so I plan to test on November 29th....could you add me please?

 

[Bing28]

Ashxd / MJsBaby - welcome and GL to you both. :wave: I have you all added

MnG - remember everyone is different so I wouldn't worry too much if you don't have any symptoms. I hope hubbies MRI scan goes okay. What day is it this week? I'll be thinking of you.

J&J - your symptoms sound good. FX'd for you. Sorry but I have no idea about conceiving a boy. I think timing/food/positions has something to do with it.

Lou - the fertility was really good actually. I learnt a lot! I will do a separate post on it later. Sorry I have never taken vitex or Angus. Also sorry you were feeling fed up. I hope you feel better and get some answers soon.

Ronnie V - I hope your symptoms turn into something promising.

Bighouse - some hpt's are more sensitive than others. I think it usually says on the packet of the IC's what the sensitivity is. Sorry AF got you

Rach - yah! I'm so happy for you! H&H 9 months! I don't know how you managed not going out if your mind waiting for that BFP!

Rockinghorse/gsm - sorry about your negative. Hopefully it's just too early.

Drjo - welcome :wave: I hope your cycles start to regulate soon!

Jules - nice to see you over here. I hope you and baby are well.

Yoga - I'm glad you had a good Halloween. Tail in the toilet is something I would do!

Eclaire - FX'd your symptoms are a good sign.

Miranda - FX'd for you.

Olive - I hope your symptoms are a good sign!

Turtle / laschai / wanting a girl - GL with testing today!

Xx

 

[Bing28]

Morning ladies, i hope everyone had a good weekend.

As you know I went to the Fertility Show in London this weekend which is an expedition with over 60 fertility specialists in the same room. Here are some if the interesting things I remember:

• It has been scientifically proven that clomid can work better when it is taken with a vitamin C supplement.

• make sure you have sex all throughout your cycle (2-3 times a week) and not just around ovulation. As sperm quality decreased after 5 days if no ejaculation and it takes 4-5 evaluations to get rid of all the poor quality sperm.

• any position is fine.

• don't put a pillow under your bum or legs up in the air. Just lay still for 20 mins after sex. The sperm will dribble out but it's completely normal for most of it not to make it.

• 1-2 glasses of alcohol a day will not effect fertility. Only excessive drinking/binge drinking will.

• don't cut out all nice foods completely. Take an 80:20 approach and be good 80% of the time but allow yourself a treat every now and again. Cutting everything out will increase anxiety/stress.

• unexplained fertility is a failure of the doctors. It is often cheaper for health services to offer IVF rather than spend the time/money trying to find out what is wrong. Often things are missed by doctors on scans / x-rays.

• the main cause of infertility is simply people are not having enough sex. If you have sex once a month it will take on average 40 months to conceive, 3 x a month will take on average 15 months to conceive. So have more sex more frequently!

• it makes no difference to sperm quality if you have sex every day or every two days. So have sex as often as you want.

• stop temping, as it increases stress levels and men hate hearing the beeping thermometer in the morning so it can cause then anxiety/stress.

• if you have regular cycles there is no real need to use OPK's. They are best for people with irregular cycles. So if you have regular cycles use other methods to detect ovulation such as a calendar or CM. OPK's can cause a lots of stress and make sex mechanical.

• along with a pre-natal supplement, also take omega 3 and a vitamin c supplement (that applies to both the male & female!).

• if you've been unsuccessful getting pregnant naturally then IUI is unlikely to help. IUI is best for couples who can't have sex for medical reasons or for same sex couples.

• if a guy has normal sperm then ICSI has no advantages over IVF. ICSI is best for guys with sperm abnormalities.

• don't rush into IVF. It's like going to the doctors with a pain in the chest as asking for open heart surgery! If everything is working as it should then it's advised to wait at least 2 years TTC before considering it.

• stop smoking - it's causes poor egg quality and poor sperm quality.

• high levels of mercury (i.e. In uncooked fish) can cause poor egg or sperm quality. So I guess no more sushi!

• caffeine - 1 to 2 cups of tea/coffee a day is fine but more than that can effect sperm and egg quality.

• as well as a sperm analysis, men can also have a sperm DNA fragmentation test (not available on NHS in UK). Sperm with poor DNA can increase time to get pregnant and chances of miscarriage.

• women can have an ASM test done to check her ovarian reserve to see how much time is on her side. However this is a fairly new test and results can vary significantly depending on who performs the test. Therefore it's unsure how reliable these tests are.

• laparoscopy's are not often done in the UK now (on the NHS). But these can give a lot of information such as whether a women has inflammation in the pelvic area or adhesions, which won't necessarily be picked up in the ultrasound or xray.

• if men don't ejaculate at all the reason could be they have a blockage, they are not producing sperm or the valve in there penis could have failed and they are ejaculating into there bladder.

If I remember anything else I'll let you know!

 

[Miss406]

Morning ladies, i hope everyone had a good weekend.

• the main cause of infertility is simply people are not having enough sex. If you have sex once a month it will take on average 40 months to conceive, 3 x a month will take on average 15 months to conceive. So have more sex more frequently!

Wow, a lot of great information there, thanks Bing!
I'm hoping since we've had sex a few times a day EVERY day we're in for a this month

 

[mumanddad]

Ah sorry I have been awol. I have been so lax this cycle to temps taken no poas. So I honestly think I am out this month before I have even ovulated haha

Hope your all doing well x

 

[Bing28]

Oh and another thing which came up a lot is heat! Heat can decrease egg quality and sperm quality. So ditch the hot yoga classes, don't use a laptop on your lap, don't keep a mobile phone in your trouser pocket and instead of tight boxers get your guys to wear loose boxers (although wearing lose boxers has not been medically proven to reduce heat in the scrotum area).